The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Collapsed bridge

  • Collapsed bridge cuts off 15 Katsina communities

    Fifteen communities in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State have been completely cut off after a bridge linking them collapsed on Sunday.

    The bridge, located at Kirkijim village, collapsed after Sunday’s heavy rain.

    The Village Head of Kirijam, Alhaji Sani Hamza, named the villages as Kauran Fawa; Unguwan Tofa; Unguwan Dakare; Unguwan Fulani; Katoge; Sako; Unguwan, Sarkin Rafi, among others.

    Hamza said: “The collapsed bridge is causing serious hardship as people now have to go through very long distance to get out of their villages for their daily activities, and the situation is already affecting social and economic activities.

    “I appeal to the state and local government to repair the bridge quickly to enable us resume our normal activities.

    “There is the need for urgent intervention by relevant authorities so that residents of these communities will not continue to suffer.”

    NAN reports that the Acting Chairman of Dandume council, Alhaji Hassan Musa, has visited the area to sympathise with the villagers and assess the extent of damage.

    He pledged to forward the issue to the state government for urgent intervention.

  • Collapsed bridge: 1,500 tankers stranded in Tatabu

    No fewer than 1,500 tankers and truck drivers are stranded in Tatubu village following the collapse of the bridge linking Mokwa, Niger State to Jebba, Kwara State.

    The line up of vehicles started about 20 kilometres before Tatabu.

    According to a driver, most of them have been in a spot in the last 10 days, with difficulties in eating and taking care of themselves.

    A visit to the area showed the drivers in a pensive mood, not knowing the next thing to do but patiently wait for their turn to cross the alternative road.

    One of them, Osas Ade, said he has spent five days waiting for his turn to cross the temporary road, which according to him was not helping matters in any way, as only three vehicles from each side were allowed to pass per time.

    Ade appealed to the government to ensure the contractor working on the bridge expedites action to ease the sufferings of motorists.

    Another driver, Adamu Aliyu, said he has been on the road for 11 days and his experience has not been palatable. He heard the road was bad but since it was the only route he could pass, he had no choice but to embark on the journey.

    “There are many roads but none of them is good. I have been taking garri; before I came here, I brought five measures of garri and some sugar but everything has been exhausted. As I speak now, I have sold my phone to eat,” he said.

    A passenger, Afolabi Grace, a trader, said the vehicle she boarded has been on the queue for four days. “There is no other road to pass and no food to eat. My family and customers have been calling me but for now, I do not know when we will leave here,” she said.

    But Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday promised that the temporary bridge will be ready for use in two weeks while the permanent bridge will be completed before December.

    Meanwhile, the National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Kashim Ibrahim, has expressed fears of an impending fuel scarcity due to the continuous stay of tankers on the Mokwa-Jebba road.

    According to him, due to the inability of the stranded drivers to meet with the 10-day ultimatum to deliver petroleum products, there might be scarcity of petroleum products in the next three days.

    He said: “The 10-day ultimatum given to all tanker drivers to deliver petroleum products to points of destination, if not actualised, will make the drivers forfeit their pay, which can make them down tools, leading to fuel scarcity.

    “The worry is that if these tankers don’t deliver products at the stipulated deadline, our members will lose their pay since it is the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) that regularise payments.

    “We have our fears that if these bridges are not fixed in the next few days, there will be fuel scarcity in the country, and PEF refuses to see reason why the 10-day ultimatum cannot be met.”

  • Collapsed bridge stalls transportation of inmates to court

    The collapsed Moro Bridge stalled the transportation of inmates of the Mandalla prison in Asa Local Government of Kwara State to the court in Ilorin, the state capital, it was learnt yesterday.

    According to the officer-in-charge of the prison, Abayomi Gbadamosi, the bridge, also known as the Bailey bridge, and which links Oyo State to Kwara, collapsed last Monday.

    He lamented that apart from the inability of the prison’s management to move inmates to court in Ilorin, the development had paralysed other activities at the prison.

    “Operationally, the prison cannot make its statutory representation in various courts in Ilorin since the bridge collapsed,” he said.

    Gbadamosi said he could not take the risk of transporting the inmates through alternative routes which he described as long, risky and tiresome.

    “It is basically not safe to carry our inmates through unofficial roads, whatever happens to them would not be explainable by me and so to play safe, we decided not to go to court at all.”

    Gbadamosi added that the prison authorities will take the warrants of inmates who are supposed to appear in court during this period to seek for an adjournment.

    He said the situation had compelled the prison authorities to reduce its workers’ three shifts to two to enable them walk through the river during the day.

    He appealed to the state government to put palliative measures in place to make the bridge motorable pending when the Federal Government will reconstruct the bridge.

    He said the site of the bridge has been taken over by touts extorting money from people passing through the area on foot.

  • Residents seek repair of collapsed bridge

    Residents of Idi-Kanga area of Ibadan North East Local Government Area of Oyo State have urged government to quickly re-build the bridge linking the area with Iwo Road to ease the frustration of motorists and residents.

    Most part of the decrepit bridge has been washed off by erosion, thereby cutting off the community from others.

    The Vice-President of Youth Advance Movement (YAM) in the community, Mr. Biodun Ale, who inspected the collapsed bridge with his members, pleaded with the state and local governments to repair the bridge.

    “Government must quickly fix the bridge to alleviate the suffering of motorists and residents who have to spend more time on alternative routes to get to their destinations,” Ale said.

     

  • Collapsed bridge cuts off communities

    Socio-economic activities have been paralysed in six communities in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, following the collapse of the 40-year-old popular Eguho Ebonyi Bridge after a downpour that lasted three days.

    The colonial-time bridge, which was rebuilt in 1973 after it was destroyed during the Civil War, connects about six communities and is also a ring route to Amegunze in Enugu State.

    The new Eguho Ebonyi Bridge under construction beside the old bridge was among the 19 bridges of unity embarked upon by the Martin Elechi administration since 2008, but has suffered a setback due to the death of the contractor and poor design.

    An indigene, Julius Nworpkor, lamented that the failure of the bridge has caused hardship for commuters.

    Nwokpor, who is also a member representing Ishielu South Constituency in the House of Assembly, pleaded with the people to be patient as the government will speed up action on the new bridge , which is to be completed next year.

    Commissioner for Works and Transport Chukwuma Nwandiugo said the government would start restoration of the bridge.

    He said the new bridge beside the failed metal bridge would have been completed before now, but for poor design.

    “This was among the bridges started around 2008. The contractor did a very bad job and it has to do with the design of the foundation.

    “When I assumed office, I discovered that the foundation of the bridge was not sufficient to carry the load we anticipated. We had to demolish the pillars and when the rain stops work will resume,” Nwandiugo said.